Quick donning hospital gown

ABSTRACT

A hospital gown includes a sheet of material forming a body portion having an opening in the body portion for a Foley catheter. The hospital gown has sleeves that fully open along the top for donning or for introduction of medical device wires or fluid hoses. A first pair of nonferrous snap closures are horizontally spaced and attached to the first end panel proximately to a top edge. A second pair of nonferrous snap closures are horizontally spaced and attached to the second end panel proximately to a top edge to correspond to and to physically engage to the first pair of nonferrous snap closures when the first and second end panels are overlapped. The width of the overlap ensures coverage of the body for modesty. The nonferrous snap closures enable rapid donning of the gown and are compatible with use in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present Application for Patent claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120and is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 14/734,204,entitled “Quick Donning Hospital Gown” filed Jun. 9, 2015, currentlypending, and assigned to the assignee hereof, which is acontinuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 14/707,074, entitled“Quick Donning Hospital Gown” filed May 8, 2015, currently pending, andassigned to the assignee hereof, the applications are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of art disclosed herein pertains to articles of clothing, andmore particularly for hospital gowns.

2. Description of the Related Art

Typical medical gowns are designed to be open at the back of a person'sbody and to be closed typically by a single set of strings that are tiedtogether adjacent a top portion of the gown. It may be difficult for theperson wearing the gown to tie the strings him or herself. Or it may bedifficult for a nurse or caretaker having limited dexterity to tie thestrings on the person's gown. If the strings are inadvertently tied in adouble knot or otherwise tangled, it may be difficult to take off themedical gown. Moreover, because medical gowns are typically secured by asingle set of strings, the rest of the gown remains open. This may beundesirable to modest or cold-natured persons.

For patients that are undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),particular challenges exist due to restrictions on any materials thatcould either interact with the strong magnetic field or create artifactsin the relatively weak radio frequency (RF) signals. Typically gownswith fabric ties are used. However, these fabric ties are time consumingto tie and also tend to be damaged during washing, limiting the usefulservice life of the gowns. In addition, generally known patient garmentsdo not provide ready access for the ancillary devices often worn bypatients.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which willbecome more apparent as the description proceeds, are described in thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a rear perspective view of a hospital gown withmagnetically fastened, overlapping fabric panels and with access slitsin each sleeve, according to one or more embodiments embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a rear view of a patient wearing the hospital gown ofFIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a rear perspective view of an example hospital gownwith fixed neck opening and a magnetically fastened, overlapping fabricpanels and with access slits in each sleeve, according to one or moreembodiments embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a rear view of a patient wearing the hospital gown ofFIG. 3, according to one or more embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of a hospital gown including fully slitsleeves and a foley catheter opening, according to one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a back view of a hospital gown including fully slitsleeves, a foley catheter opening, and nonferrous closure snaps,according to one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a hospital gownincludes a sheet of material forming a body portion and having first andsecond end panels to overlap each other. The hospital gown includes leftand right sleeves attached to the body portion, each having a slitseparating a front side from a back side of the respective sleeve.According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the hospital gownincludes at least one pair of nonferrous snap closures attached to thefront side and the back side of each sleeve to close the respectiveslit.

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a hospital gown 100 with improvements for reducinglabor costs in a medical unit, such as save approximately 20-25 minutesper nurse per shift. The hospital gown 100 includes a sheet of materialforming a body portion 102 and having first and second end panels 104,106 for one to overlay the other. In one or more embodiments, theoverlay is substantial, such as at least 8″ to ensure full coverage. Afirst pair of magnetic components 108 a, 108 b are horizontally spacedand attached to the first end panel 104 proximately to a top edge 110. Asecond pair of magnetic components 112 a, 112 b (FIG. 1) arehorizontally spaced and attached to the second end panel 106 proximatelyto a top edge 114 to correspond to and to magnetically adhere to thefirst pair of magnetic components 108 a, 108 b when the first and secondend panels 104, 106 are overlapped. The width of the overlap ensurescoverage of the body for modesty. The magnetic components 108 a, 108 b,112 a, 112 b enable quick donning of the gown. In one or moreembodiments, a pair of sleeves 116 a, 116 b are attached to the bodyportion 102.

Each sleeve 116 a, 116 b can includes shoulder access slit 118 forintroduction of medical device wires or fluid hoses 120. For example,the slits 118 can be 5″-10″ in length and run vertically.

In an exemplary embodiment, the overlay can be positioned dorsally for apatient placed on their back in a diagnostic system such as a MagneticResonance Imaging (MM) system. Thereby the weight of the patient canmaintain the overlay as well as screening the magnets from interactingwith or causing artifacts in the diagnostic system. The substantialoverlay also reduces the required number of magnetics to preventexposure.

In each pair of magnetic components 108 a, 108 b, 112 a, 112 b, at leastone includes a magnet. The magnet may be an axially magnetized neodymiummagnet, for example. One suitable magnet is an N52 magnet sold by K&JMagnetics, Inc., for example. The magnet may have a maximum energyproduct (BHmax) of at least 49.5-52 megagauss-oersteds (MGOe). Themagnet should be strong enough so that the fastening assembly 16 remainsclosed during normal wear of the hospital garment 100. However, themagnet should not be so strong as to prevent disengagement or causeundue exertion when the wearer wishes to disengage the pair of magneticcomponents 108 a, 108 b, 112 a, 112 b to take off the hospital garment100.

The magnet may be plated so as to help prevent corrosion and/or to helpstrengthen the magnet material. In one embodiment, a neodymium magnet iscoated with nickel or plastic, yet other options for coatings includezinc, tin, copper, epoxy, silver, and gold, for example. Finally,although a standard temperature magnet is likely sufficient for use inthe magnetic magnetic components 108 a, 108 b, 112 a, 112 b of thehospital garment 100, a magnet having a temperature rating that enablesthe magnet to be employed at an increased operating temperature may alsobe used.

The other of each pair of magnetic components 108 a, 108 b, 112 a, 112 bmay be another magnet having an opposite polarity or a metallic articlethat is magnetically attracted to the first magnet. The two magneticelements may have the same size and shape, although they need not beidentical. The magnetic components 108 a, 108 b, 112 a, 112 b caninclude a pouch, patch, pocket or adhesive layer to attach to thehospital gown 100.

FIGS. 3-4 illustrate a hospital gown 200 with further improvements forreducing labor costs in a medical unit by having a fixed neck opening201. The hospital gown 100 includes a sheet of material forming a bodyportion 202 and having first and second end panels 204, 206 for one tooverlay the other and that are joined at the fixed neck opening 201. Inone or more embodiments, the overlay is substantial, such as at least 8″to ensure full coverage. A first torso magnetic component 208 isattached to the first end panel 204 approximately midway between a topedge 210 and a bottom edge 211. The first and second magnetic components208, 212 magnetically adhere to each other when the first and second endpanels 204, 206 are overlapped. The width of the overlap ensurescoverage of the body for modesty. The fixed neck opening 201 andmagnetic components 208, 212 enable quick donning of the gown. In one ormore embodiments, a pair of sleeves 116 a, 116 b are attached to thebody portion 202. Each sleeve 216 a, 216 b can includes shoulder accessslit 218 for introduction of medical device wires or fluid hoses 220.For example, the slits 218 can be 5″-10″ in length and run vertically.

FIG. 5 illustrates a hospital gown 300 that further includes fully slitsleeves 316 a, 316 b that are attached along the top by one or moremagnetic components 350. Fully slit sleeves 316 a, 316 b can providefurther options for accessing the patient's arm for therapeutic anddiagnostic procedures as well as providing other options for donning thegarment 300. At a lower front position on a body portion 302, a Foleycatheter opening 352 provide an attachment point for supporting a Foleycatheter being used by a patient. The hospital gown 300 also includes aright breast pocket 356. To further assist in donning, the hospital gown300 can be 1.5-2 sizes too large.

FIG. 6 illustrates a hospital gown 600 without magnets that furtherincludes fully slit sleeves 616 a, 616 b that are attached along the topby one or more nonferrous snap closures 650. Fully slit sleeves 616 a,616 b can provide further options for accessing the patient's arm fortherapeutic and diagnostic procedures as well as providing other optionsfor donning the garment 600. At a lower front position on a body portion602, a Foley catheter opening 652 provide an attachment point forsupporting a Foley catheter being used by a patient. In an exemplaryembodiment, the Foley catheter opening 652 is 1.5″ long. The hospitalgown 600 also includes a right breast pocket 656. To further assist indonning, the hospital gown 600 can be 1.5-2 sizes too large. A back slit657 in the right breast pocket 656 provides for telemetry and lead wiresto pass from the chest or abdomen of the patient to a device in thepocket 656.

In an exemplary embodiment, the nonferrous snap closures 650 are plasticsnaps that are safe and acceptable with and for patients being evaluatedduring MRI and all other imaging testing. The plastic snaps canwithstand excessive temperatures that are typically experienced duringthe washing and drying processes. The plastic snaps eliminate theproblem of the knotting and tearing of generally-used tie closures.Thus, extended service life provides for a positive impact on costs. Theclosure snaps 650 along the tops of each sleeve and behind the neckoffer total access for intravenous (IV) therapy and skin-to-skinconvenience for nursing mothers.

A prototype hospital gown 600 has been successfully tested under themost rigorous conditions and complies with the standards set forth byCintas Corporation to endure over sixty (60) washings insuring extendedlength of life further positively impacting overall cost. The prototypehospital gown 600 uses a cotton and polyester blend for patient comfortand is treated with an antimicrobial agent requested by evaluatingclinicians to address contamination concerns. The prototype hospitalgown 600 has a five (5″) inch back overlap to insure proper coveragepaying close attention to the patient modesty issue. The prototypehospital gown 600 is completely liquid repellant treated with Vestexprocedure, which has American Hospital Association approval.

The hospital/patient gowns of the present invention may be fabricatedfrom any suitable drapable cloth-like material, including withoutlimitation, textiles or fabrics made from any one or more materialsincluding, but not limited to, plastics, paper, natural and syntheticfibers, and the like. Gowns may preferably be fashioned fromflame-retardant materials, such as 100% polyester fabrics, and may alsobe fashioned from a durable material, which may be laundered one or moretimes for subsequent re-use. Such gowns may be individually orbulk-packaged and may optionally be contained in suitable packagingmeans that permit the gown to be sterilized subsequent to manufacture,and/or prior to patient use. The fabrics utilized for construction ofthe gown may also optionally comprise one or more stain-resistantchemicals, or one or more antimicrobial treatments (e.g., MicroBan™), orone or more flame-retardants, or such like. For example, in someembodiments a post-surgical undergarment is provided which incorporatesLIFE® products, fabrics, coatings, and/or materials. Preferably, anantimicrobial substance is topically applied or inherently available inthe fabric.

Depending upon the thickness or “ply” of the fabric used for fabricatingthe garments, the gown may be manufactured of a single ply of fabric, ormay optionally be formed for two or more sheets of fabrics. In all suchcases, the more desirable fabric thickness will be one that providesappropriate coverage and patient modesty, as well as durability of thegown itself. Alternatively, the gown may be fashioned out of a materialthat may be employed for one-time use prior to disposal, incineration,or decontamination. These “one-time use” gowns may be fabricated from alightweight or inexpensive fabric, from one or more plies of a paper orsuitable paper/fabric composite. They may be individually orbulk-packaged and may optionally be contained in suitable packagingmeans that permit the gown to be sterilized subsequent to manufacture,and/or prior to patient use.

The gowns of the present invention may be fashioned from one or morefabrics having substantially one color and/or substantially one patternor design, or alternatively, may be constructed from textiles having aplurality of colors and/or patterns. The hospital gowns described hereinmay also be designed using fabric colors, textile patterns and/or printsthat are aesthetically-pleasing or that provide both physical andemotional comfort during wearing. Particularly desirable are fabricsthat are pleasing and/or calming to a juvenile or adolescent patient.

In certain embodiments, the fabric may be permanently orsemi-permanently identified with one or more distinguishing mark(s) orlogo(s) of the laundry/linen service or hospital that owns the garments,or may be alternatively identified with one or more distinguishingmark(s) or logo(s) of the medical facility in which the gown is issuedor used.

In certain embodiments, the fabric may be more “kid-friendly” for youngpatients by designing and manufacturing the gowns disclosed herein fromtextiles and fabrics with patterns, colors, logos, and/or ornamentationsthat are particularly appealing or soothing to juveniles or adolescents.For example, the gowns may be manufactured from textiles thatincorporate, illustrate, or otherwise depict recognizable commercialsymbology (e.g., professional sports team logos, comic strip characters,cartoon characters, action figures, animae, or such like.

Because in certain circumstances, a patient may wear a telemetry device,an external pacemaker, a data recorder, dosimeter, pump, or otherexternal medical device, instrumentation, or appliance, it is alsodesirable in certain embodiment to provide a means for containing suchdevices in the patient's hospital gown. In such instances, one or moredevice pockets may be fashioned into the design of gown to hold suchdevices. These pockets may be sized to accommodate typical patientmonitoring devices and, may also be optionally provided with ahorizontal slit in the rear portion of the pocket through which one ormore wires, sensors, electrical leads, or tubes may be passed underneaththe garment and into proximity with the patient's body. Such pockets arepreferably located in the upper torso region of the patient, similar tothe breast pocket on a conventional dress shirt.

While the concept of fabricating pockets is well-known in the garmentindustry, in an overall and general sense, a pocket may be formed bysewing a substantially square or substantially rectangular portion offabric along three of its edges (for example, bottom edge X, andopposing edges Y and Y′, leaving the top edge not sewn, such that thefabric is attached to the body portion of the garment, such that the topwall and the body portion form a top opening that allows for insertionof patient monitors into the pocket.

In another embodiment of this invention, a patient record or patientidentification pocket 300 or 305 is fabricated into the garment toprovide means for storing patient records or data. Because patientsoften undergo procedures in various areas or departments of a medicalfacility, they are often are moved from one location to another, or fromone facility to another. In such situations, there is a desire incertain embodiments to provide a means for securing medical records,identification papers, test results, patient data, or other paperworksuch as doctor's orders to the patient's garment.

To minimize the potential for separating a patient and such paperwork,the gowns of the present invention may also optionally comprise one ormore pockets, which may be fabricated into any suitable area of thegarment (but preferably on the front surface of the garment, and in theapproximate lower half of the garment) such that the material placedinto the data pocket is readily accessible to both patient and attendantmedical personnel. The fabrication and design of the data pocket issimilar to the telemetry pocket disclosed above, however, the datapocket is preferably sized larger than a convention shirt pocket inorder to accommodate larger items and paperwork.

The use of bar coding, and more recently, radio frequency identification(RFID) technology, has become widespread in recent years in a number ofdisciplines from tracking inventory to monitoring military troopmovements. In the medical arts, biocompatible implantable RFID deviceshave long been used for the identification and monitoring of laboratoryanimals. Recently, commercialization of RFID technology has beenextended to the use of RFID chip devices implanted into corpses tofacilitate processing of large numbers of deceased following naturaldisasters.

Likewise, RFID devices have also been employed by the United Statesmilitary for identification of medical patients in field hospitals andthe like. More recently, hospitals have begun replacing the traditionalpatient I.D. bracelet with RFID-enabled wristband technology. Suchidentification devices represent an improved means for patientidentification and data compared to conventional patient ID methodology.As such, the inventors contemplate that the patient gowns of the presentinvention may be readily configured to employ one or more RFID devicesfor patient identification. To that end, the patient gowns of thepresent invention may be adapted or fabricated to provide a means forsecuring one or more RFID devices to the garment. Such devices could beused to transmit pertinent information and/or data to attendant medicalpersonnel. Because of the miniaturized configuration of contemporaryRFID devices, such an identification means could be placed in one ormore data pockets, coupled to the garment by suitable anchoring means(clips, hooks, adhesives, etc.), or the device could be fabricateddirectly into the garment either during manufacture, or secured to thegown prior to patient use.

In some embodiments, customization of the garments can incorporate oneor more methods known in the art of textile manufacture andpersonalization, including for example, screen printing, embroidery,stitching, monogramming, lithography, dry transfer, dye sublimation,and/or ink transfer of one or more selected designs to the fabric of apatient gown.

Personalization and/or customization of the patient gowns may also bedesirable to provide advertising and/or name recognition for aparticular medical facility or even, for example, a selected servicewithin a given facility.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to a “colorant agent” includes two or more such agents.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which the invention pertains. Although a number of methodsand materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can beused in the practice of the present invention, the preferred materialsand methods are described herein.

As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art, themethods and compositions of the invention substantially reduce oreliminate the disadvantages and drawbacks associated with prior artmethods and compositions.

It should be noted that, when employed in the present disclosure, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” and other derivatives from the rootterm “comprise” are intended to be open-ended terms that specify thepresence of any stated features, elements, integers, steps, orcomponents, and are not intended to preclude the presence or addition ofone or more other features, elements, integers, steps, components, orgroups thereof.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

While it is apparent that the illustrative embodiments of the inventionherein disclosed fulfill the objectives stated above, it will beappreciated that numerous modifications and other embodiments may bedevised by one of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, it will beunderstood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and embodiments, which come within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hospital gown comprising: a sheet of materialforming a body portion and having first and second end panels to overlapeach other; left and right sleeves attached to the body portion, eachhaving a slit separating a front side from a back side of the respectivesleeve; and at least one pair of nonferrous snap closures attached tothe front side and the back side of each sleeve to close the respectiveslit.
 2. The hospital gown of claim 1, further comprising an openingproximate formed in lower front portion of the body portion forreceiving a Foley catheter.
 3. The hospital gown of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first pair of nonferrous snap closures that arehorizontally spaced and attached to the first end panel proximately to atop edge; and a second pair of nonferrous snap closures that arehorizontally spaced and attached to the second end panel proximately toa top edge to correspond to and to physically engage to the first pairof nonferrous snap closures when the first and second end panels areoverlapped.
 4. The hospital gown of claim 1, further comprising: one ormore nonferrous snap closures attached below the first pair ofnonferrous snap closures to the first end panel; and one or morecorresponding nonferrous snap closures attached below the second pair ofnonferrous snap closures to the second end panel to correspond to theone or more nonferrous snap closures on the first end panel.